McCarthy emphasized opposition to concealed carry, even though Illinois is the only statethat doesn’t permit the practice, the Chicago paper noted.

“‘Just because it’s 49 to one doesn’t mean that Illinois is wrong,’ McCarthy said.

He insisted supporters of concealed carry don’t understand the consequences.

“‘When people say concealed carry, I say Trayvon Martin,’ McCarthy said, referring to the unarmed 17-year-old who was shot and killed last February by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida, sparking controversy across the country.

“I say Trayvon Martin,” McCarthy continued, according to the Tribune, “because the answer to guns is not more guns, and just simply putting guns in people’s hands is going to lead to more tragedy.”

McCarthy told reporters after the discussion that the fact that only about 300 of the guns seized by the department last year were assault weapons means the debate over tightening laws should include all types of guns.

Lost in McCarthy’s statement was the presumed innocence of Trayvon Martin in the George Zimmerman case. A recent photo released by Zimmerman’s defense clearly shows Zimmerman’s his face bloodied and his nose swollen. Zimmerman, accused of shooting and killing Martin, has contended he was being attacked and only defended himself.

A WND review of the Chicago Police Department Murder Analysis reports from 2003 to 2011 provides a statistical breakdown of the manner in which people were murdered in Chicago.

During that period, of the 4,251 people murdered, 3,371 died from being shot, with 98 percent of the murder weapons being a handgun. Thirty-seven people were killed with a rifle and 40 were killed with a shotgun.

Less than 1 percent of the murders in Chicago between 2003 and 2011 were with what the Chicago Police Department classifies as a “rifle,” which would include and AR-15.

Over that period, 31 people were murdered with a baseball bat in Chicago, which is almost comparable to the rate at which “rifles” were used as a murder weapon.